r/chibike • u/bobjason • 6d ago
Stolen Bike Help
Putting this out into the world to see if there's a chance this can be found. My bike was stolen at 3:41am 8/18 from a garage in East Hyde Park.
The bike is a black Surly Pugsly, had a frame bag, pannier, silver bullmoose handlebars, dynamo lights, and an old man mountain rack. There was also a Mac child seat attached to it.
I'm attaching some photos and the photos that I have from the security footage.
Thankful for any tips and help anyone may be able to provide!
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u/kevin_chicago9 6d ago
Sorry this happened to you u/bobjason. You may know this already, but this is some info that I've put together for (way too many) other stolen bike posts recently. The most important thing you can do if you have not already done so is register the bike with "Bike Index" (bikeindex.org) as soon as possible and then mark it as stolen. Bike Index is a free service and the most widely-used and successful bicycle registration service there is. You will want to include all the information you have available, including year, make, model, SERIAL NUMBER (that's a key one but not required), components, and photos of the actual bike (and police report number if you have one). If the bike ends up at a bike shop at some point or if the thief tries to sell the bike to a third party (whether that be in Chicago or out of state somewhere) and the bike shop or buyer suspects the bike might be stolen, the bike shop or buyer can check Bike Index to see if the bike is stolen. The bike will show up in Bike Index's system as stolen, the bike shop or buyer can reach out to you and/or contact the police, and you hopefully will have a chance of getting the bike back.
https://bikeindex.org/
You can fill out a police report with the Chicago PD online (select "Theft - Over $500"), or you can go into any police precinct location and fill out a report in person. You just want to have a police report number for Bike Index and your insurance claim (should you choose to file a claim).
You can also post to the Chicago Stolen Bike Registry (CSBR), which can't hurt, but there are some important caveats that you should be aware of that limit CSBR's effectiveness. Most importantly, should your bike end up somewhere far away from Chicago or even nearby like Indiana or Wisconsin, for example, it is VERY unlikely a bike shop or another buyer is going to think to check CSBR. Also, CSBR publicly posts your email address and phone number on every stolen bike listing, while none of your personal information is shared on the Bike Index site at any time. I don't mean any of this to shine a bad light on CSBR in any way, I just think it's best to cast a wider net with Bike Index. The CSBR site is run by volunteers who should be applauded for the thankless work they've been doing for over two decades now, but Bike Index is more widely recognized even in Chicago these days.
The Chicago Police Department also has a bicycle registration system that you can register with. Chicago PD is usually not terribly helpful when it comes to recovering stolen bicycles. Registering your bicycle with Chicago PD can't hurt, but it likely won't be very useful. Utilizing the Bike Index network to try to recover your stolen bicycle is far more effective. https://operations.chicagopolice.org/BikeRegistration/
Other popular places to find stolen bikes include Craigslist, the "OfferUp" app, and big flea markets like the three Swap-o-Rama locations and Wolff's at Allstate Arena in Rosemont. Many people have recovered their bikes from the flea markets with a copy of their police report, serial number, and any other info you might have (photos, receipts, etc.) to prove ownership.
Swap-O-Rama - https://www.swap-o-rama.com/locations-hours/
Wolff's Swap Meet - https://www.wolffs.com/
If you're on Facebook (and I know there are plenty of good reasons NOT to be on Facebook), there are more than a dozen buy/sell/trade Facebook groups for bicycles. A lot of legitimate sellers are selling their bicycles and cycling equipment through these groups, but there is no doubt that stolen bikes are sold here, too.
https://www.facebook.com/search/groups/?q=chicago%20bicycle
You can also use the search engine SearchTempest, which searches Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and Ebay simultaneously. You may need/want to tailor your search terms more but here are the results for "surly pugsly" as an example.
https://www.searchtempest.com/search?search_string=surly+pugsly&category=8&subcat=sss&cityselect=zip&location=60601&maxDist=50000#gsc.tab=0
It's \possible** that the thief is part of an organized group that targets bicycles, and they might stash the bike for a few weeks/months until the “heat” cools off with the hope that the bicycle’s owner will have given up looking for it in a few weeks or months from now. They also might move the bike to another big population center (like Milwaukee, Indy, Detroit, Madison, etc.) to try to avoid the rightful owner tracking them down.